Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $103.77.

Several brokerages have recently commented on SBUX. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Starbucks from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wedbush reduced their target price on Starbucks from $98.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In related news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.54, for a total value of $148,414.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,975,542.96. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Starbucks by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 360,483 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $28,064,000 after acquiring an additional 25,322 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 17.7% in the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Starbucks by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 2,309,637 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $179,805,000 after buying an additional 10,101 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Starbucks by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 44,590 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,471,000 after buying an additional 5,069 shares during the period. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 8,542 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $665,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starbucks Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of SBUX opened at $91.25 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.43. Starbucks has a 12 month low of $71.55 and a 12 month high of $103.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.97.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The company had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Starbucks will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s payout ratio is 73.72%.

Starbucks Company Profile

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.